Let’s suppose you’ve already had a little experience with naturist social nudity – and you’ve found it to be comfortable and enjoyable. In fact, you realize that you’d like to actively participate on a more regular basis. But so far you haven’t found good opportunities to do that.
Welcome to the club. Depending on where you live, it’s quite possible there just aren’t any satisfactory nearby places, such as naturist resorts or clothing-optional beaches. Of course, if you’ve been able to find a few other people whose interest in naturism is similar to yours, then you’re all set. Just get together with these others in private homes or outdoor places where it’s possible to be naked without problems.
However, if you haven’t met such congenial people yet, you have to figure out how to find them. That’s what this post is about. The discussion here will be a little longer than average, maybe 15 minutes of reading, so be patient. If you don’t have much time right now, just bookmark this page, and return to it when you have more time to absorb the ideas. Then start making plans for your next steps.
If you’re still reading, let’s assume you don’t know of nearby options for enjoying social nudity conveniently on a regular basis, and you have found few, if any, others who share your interest in naturism. What can you do then? Answer: you’ll need to put more effort into finding potential naturists close to your age. What follows are steps you can take to do that.
1. Some of the most obvious ways to find potential naturist friends have problems
Visiting an existing naturist park or resort is probably the easiest place to meet other genuine naturists. Even though many or most people at established naturist places are on the older side, they may well be able to suggest relatives or acquaintances of theirs who might enjoy naturism and are closer to your age.
There are likely to be more young people at clothing-optional beaches. However, people at such beaches are often less comfortable meeting strangers than folks at typical naturist venues. Many are at the beach just to enjoy being naked in a pleasant environment and to get an all-over tan. But they may be uninterested in dealing with random strangers, who they have little reason to trust. And besides, it’s already been assumed there are neither naturist resorts nor beaches nearby to visit conveniently.
Non-landed naturist clubs are one possibility worth investigating. There’s a better chance that more such clubs exist near you – especially in metropolitan areas – than either landed clubs or naturist-friendly beaches. The AANR website lists affiliated non-landed clubs, so it’s worth checking out. But many non-landed naturist clubs aren’t affiliated with AANR. Meetup is the next place to look for such groups, and those groups probably will have younger members. Nevertheless, especially in less densely populated areas, good possibilities may not be very nearby.
How about using social media to find potential naturist friends? There are definite problems with that. In the first place, as has long been said, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.” You aren’t, of course, but you really know nothing for sure about anyone else online you’re not personally acquainted with. And in the second place, even if you consider a new online acquaintance to probably be trustworthy, they may not live anywhere near you.
If you do want to try using social media for finding naturist friends, the best places to check are probably Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook – in that order. Twitter doesn’t have groups as such, but there are many naturist posters. (Twitter is, at least currently, pretty tolerant of explicit nudity.) Once you’ve checked a few (such as Naturistplace), Twitter will suggest many more. You still won’t actually know much about the posters, including whether they’re nearby, but at least you may find people or places worth investigating further.
Reddit has two good subreddits that often have useful information: r/nudism and r/naturism. Reddit is worth checking for several reasons: (1) The Q/A format is great for asking questions and getting useful answers; (2) The active participants usually include more young adults than other places; (3) Subreddits are moderated, and responses can be voted up or down; (4) Many people on Reddit enjoy giving helpful advice; (5)There’s not a lot of extraneous BS.
Facebook has a small number of naturist groups you could join. But few have much activity, and many of the posts are from older men who post selfies (without showing anything Facebook doesn’t allow). At least on Facebook, you can check others’ profiles, although they may be sparse and unreliable.
There are also a few independent discussion forums and social networks similar to Facebook that are specifically for naturists. But they all have problems like those already noted. And in addition, they tend to have few active users, yet try to charge fees for “premium” features. Especially avoid “naturist friend-finder” sites. Nearly all of those are scams.
What’s the alternative? Probably the best is to use your own existing real-life social network of relatives, friends, friends-of-friends, and congenial acquaintances. Yes, most of them may know little or nothing about genuine naturism. Almost everyone has heard of “nudism”, but they probably consider it mainly a sexual thing and confuse “naturists” with “naturalists”. The first step is to enlighten them about what naturism really is, and why it appeals to you. Then perhaps some will want to learn more about naturism, or at least suggests others they know and can recommend you to who may have an interest.
Whatever means you choose to discover potential naturist friends, there’s one key thing to keep in mind. It is that people you already know and like, even if they aren’t interested in naturism, may know others who could be interested. Their recommendation of you to others they’re close to will significantly raise the chances of finding a friend to share your enjoyment of naturism with.
2. Learn about some of the main reasons others are reluctant to become involved in naturist activities
All naturists need to have a good understanding of the misconceptions that many other people have about naturism, for two main reasons. First, it’s difficult to even discuss naturism with others if one isn’t prepared to refute the prevalent misconceptions. The result is that too many people think that being naked around others is at least rather weird. Or more likely, that it’s something deviant and perverted. Consequently, people who’re involved in naturism or at least considering it are afraid to discuss the subject with others. But understanding the misconceptions and being able to explain why they’re wrong makes such discussions much easier.
The second reason is that even when naturists are confident about discussing naturism with others, they may well find convincing others that naturism is wholesome and enjoyable is difficult. Consequently, although others may concede that naturism is OK for people who enjoy it, they’ll probably feel being naked with most others isn’t something they’d be comfortable doing, let alone enjoying. And so persuading others to actually learn about and experiment with social nudity isn’t easy.
The post linked above about misconceptions goes into great detail. But here’s a concise summary.
So let’s say you’ve realized that you enjoy being naked in places where it’s possible, such as in your own home (especially if others you live with have no objection), outdoors while hiking or camping in a suitable location, or somewhere others are also naked, like clothing-optional beaches or naturist resorts. Then it’s pretty clear that naturist nudity is important to you. If you find such opportunities to be naked are sufficient, there’s not really much reason to discuss your interest in naturism with others whose opinions about nudity aren’t known to you. In that case, there’s not much to be gained by even discussing the subject. And obviously, there are risks, because unfortunately there are many people who would be suspicious of the motives of others who admit to enjoying being naked – or may even consider the idea to be exhibitionistic, “sinful”, “perverted”, etc. So there’s a risk of adverse consequences – to your career, social status, opinions others have about you, or at least your relationships with friends and relatives. However, the subject of naturism might come up in casual conversation. Others involved in the conversation will probably have various different opinions about it. Some will say it’s OK for people to enjoy it, although it doesn’t interest them at all. At least with anyone like that, there’s probably little risk in letting them know you enjoy naturist nudity yourself. And you can feel free to explain some of your reasons for that. But there are even better possible results. For example: If and when you get used to talking with others who are likely to be open-minded, interested, and sympathetic about your perspective on the enjoyment of social nudity, one thing is certain. It’s that you’ll really feel like you’ve actually become comfortable with and enthusiastic about social nudity. That’s an achievement to be proud of, and it will give you the confidence to proceed further. Best of all: You’ll be able to spend more time naked once you’re overcome most of your hesitations about having nothing on anytime it’s comfortable and acceptable to do so. Nudity is best enjoyed with people who’re copacetic with it, even if some or all others aren’t interested in being naked themselves. That’s a fact. So it’s great to have friends who have no qualms about your nudity. (If that encourages them to be naked too, so much the better.) Of course, the only way to find out if that’s so is if you’ve already let others know you enjoy being naked. You may be most comfortable naked if you’re not the only one. But even if nobody else is naked, you should feel fine if they accept your nudity. Nevertheless, it’s not surprising that people especially enjoy socializing with others they have important things in common. As far as naturism is concerned, the enjoyment of being naked is certainly a significant thing. So while it’s fine to have friends who’re OK with your nudity, it’s even better if their age is similar to yours. In the U. S. at the present time, the age distribution of naturists skews heavily to older people. But you probably know that. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with older people. There’s just as much goodness (or as little) in people regardless of their age. And anyhow, getting older isn’t something anyone can avoid as long as they’re alive. However, many things change as people age – interests, preferences, abilities, circumstances, responsibilities, opinions, and philosophies of life – to name just a few. In general (though not entirely) wanting to socialize with others one has most in common with is just natural. However, the skewed age distribution of naturists is a serious problem. Why? Because naturism is strongest when all demographic categories – including age especially – are well represented. For any particular category, the more naturists there are in it, the more others in the same category will be attracted to naturism. Conversely, the fewer naturists in each category, the fewer others in the same category will be attracted to naturism. (The same, importantly, is true of the category of gender.) Birds of a feather flock together. So, all that being understood, how can you go about finding others in your age group to consider becoming involved in social nudity? The first thing has already been covered: Let as many as possible know that you enjoy being naked with others in order to find some who will even consider the idea. Still, you do need to be selective. There are some demographic categories in which nudity is a much larger taboo than in others. Ethnicity, for instance, matters a lot, because strong attitudes about many things have been instilled in ethnic group members since early childhood. The best place to find potential naturists is probably among your good friends and close relatives. They already know a lot about you, and (at least among your good friends) they’re likely to respect your opinions, even if they don’t fully agree. Of course, you probably know both good friends and close relatives well enough to realize who won’t be receptive to the idea of naturism. In either case, it may or may not be easy to prevent them from learning about your interest in naturism. One type of acquaintance to whom advocating for naturism may be inadvisable comprises people who work at the same place you do, especially if there is a supervisor/subordinate relationship. Sexual harassment is a big issue in most workplaces these days. Even though naturism isn’t sexual, many people are sure it is – or are worried about others who may think so. However, there might be no problems if you carpool with someone at your workplace (or in a group of workplaces) but with whom you have no close working relationship. Or perhaps someone you just see often in the cafeteria. Fortunately, there are many other possibilities involving people who aren’t necessarily close friends with whom you could mention naturism. Although many may not be interested in discussing it, many others might welcome the discussion. You may never know which is which unless the topic happens to come up – or you bring it up. For instance: What sort of places? Unfortunately, there aren’t many established clothing-optional beaches in the U. S., so it may be necessary to travel long distances to use them. And your local climate may be suitable for outdoor naturist activities only a few months of the year. There’s the same problem with naturist clubs and resorts. Being able to afford transportation to travel far may be difficult. If you’re lucky, there may be closer places like national or state forests, wilderness areas, little-used open spaces, or skinny-dipping spots that are “safe” to visit for naked hiking, camping, picnicking, sunbathing, or just being clothesfree in the sunshine. If no place like that is especially convenient to visit, there’s always your own home or apartment. Provided, of course, that anyone else living there is tolerant of nudity, or at least willing to be elsewhere when you’re having naturist guests. Indoor spaces, at least, are suitable for nude use any time of the year. Keep in mind that nudity usually isn’t required at most places where it’s possible. Even most landed clubs and resorts nowadays require nudity only in spas and swimming pools. So definitely assure anyone who’s willing to accompany you to some naturist place that they won’t have to take off any clothes if they don’t want to, as long as the chosen place isn’t strictly nude-only. Since most people who’re willing to go with you presumably don’t mind seeing the nudity of others, they should have little reason to find the experience unpleasant. (Unless the chosen place is not “really” a naturist location.) If you’re a woman who’s seriously interested in naturism, visiting naturist places with others should be especially reassuring – even if the others have no intention of getting naked. Although genuine naturist places are usually quite safe for women, having others with you can significantly enhance your feeling of safety and self-confidence in being naked. Last but not least, bringing others with you to naturist places will allow them to learn first-hand what naturism is really like, without needing to rely only on your assurances and encouragement. This is probably the best way to bring new people into naturism. And that’s a clear benefit to you as well as to naturism in general. Plus, especially if you’re a woman, you’ll feel much safer yourself with others accompanying you.
However, the more people allow themselves to enjoy being naked, either alone or with others, the sooner they’ll lose the feeling that nudity is not normal. And discussing their positive feelings about nudity with others is the best way to help understand others that nudity really can be “normal”, even if only for a limited portion of the population. Not many people enjoy “dangerous” or “uncommon” activities like sky diving or marathon running. But they don’t have a negative attitude that such things are “abnormal” for people who enjoy them.
3. Begin to tell people you know and trust about your interest in naturism
On the other hand, of course, if the subject of naturism is being discussed, there quite possibly might be one or more people who have negative opinions about it. In spite of the risks involved, it could be worthwhile to speak up and let such people know that you enjoy some forms of naturist nudity and aren’t at all ashamed about it. You might decide that the risks of speaking up are small compared to the possibilities of correcting the various misconceptions about naturism that are commonly held. Be forthright and explain how you haven’t found that real naturists aren’t weirdos, perverts, pedophiles, sex addicts, or anything of the sort. To the extent people value your opinion and are willing to consider it, that perspective could be beneficial for naturism.4. Make it a priority to find other people near your age who already enjoy naturist activities or might consider trying them
One possibility should be singled out for special mention. Your siblings (if any) – some of them, anyhow – probably know and trust you better than almost anyone else, perhaps even more than your parents do. You’ve possibly seen each other naked occasionally, or maybe frequently. If you live at home with family members who understand and accept your enjoyment of nudity, you may be able to go naked at home as much as you’d like. But in any case, if one or more of your siblings knows of your naturist interest, and is open to the idea, they’re close to your age and may be more inclined to explore naturism with you than almost anyone else.5. Once you’ve found anyone who seems potentially interested in naturism, be sure to invite them to visit naturist places and events with you
6. Previous articles in this series
Please provide a list of links to Parts 1 – 4.
The links are at the bottom of the article, and have always been there.